Pen Pals
by Duchess67
Summary: Piper, feeling patriotic, signs up for a pen pal in the military. She thinks it would be good for Wyatt to share in writing letters to lonely soldiers far from home. Little did she know just how far these letters would have to travel and what would transp
1. Chapter 1

Title: Pen Pals

Author: Duchess

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, from either show,  
(Charmed, Stargate Atlantis) just borrowing them for a little while  
for amusement purposes and no money to be made whatsoever. Please  
don't sue? I'm broke enough!

Summary: Piper, feeling patriotic, signs up for a pen pal in the  
military. She thinks it would be good for Wyatt to share in writing  
letters to lonely soldiers far from home. Little did she know just  
how far these letters would have to travel and what would transpire  
once her very special son got involved.

Author's note:  
I realize I'm playing around with what Wyatt's abilities are, but  
this is an obvious AU, so please don't yell at me for not sticking  
with canon when no fanfic is canon? This is for fun only. Thank you!

Author's note 2: This story is based on the premise that McKay is  
able to find ways to send letters from Pegasus over and over again  
and Stargate Command is able to regularly send supplies and replies  
to letters. I realize it's not canon, but it's a fun premise that  
came to me while I was half awake/half asleep and of vignette length.  
A short fic is something I haven't done in a while and I wanted to  
try my hand at it again. Hope you enjoy it, at least a little bit.  
vbg

San Francisco, California Halliwell Manor  
Paige brought in the mail and put it on the kitchen table by her  
oldest sister. "Thought you might want this, looks like your pen pal  
wrote back."

Having just finished feeding Chris and laid him down for his nap,  
Piper picks up the envelope and waves it at her oldest son, "Look,  
Wyatt. It's a letter from Major John! Let's see what he has to say,"  
she tells the suddenly excited boy who immediately crawls into her  
lap while she opens it up. A photo suddenly appears in his chubby  
little hands of the officer the letter is from that had come with the  
first of these letters.

Across the table, Phoebe smiles at her nephew's excitement as well as  
his instinctive use of magic. "You know, I never would have thought  
having a pen pal would interest a three year old, but once again you  
were right, Piper."

The eldest Halliwell just smiles as she starts to read, "Dear Wyatt,  
I got the letter you and your Mom wrote and the picture you drew for  
me. It was very good! Thank you so much for sharing. My superior saw  
the picture and she thinks you should grow up to be an artist.

I'm sorry I really can't tell you where I am so you can put it up on  
the map in your room because it's supposed to be a secret, but I can  
tell you we rescued some people from the bad guys the other day.

You asked if I ever got scared of the enemy here and the answer is  
yes, I can't let that keep me from trying to stop them hurting  
innocent people though. Yes, they're very scary, but mostly they make  
me mad because they don't have to do what they're doing to people,  
they just want to and that makes them evil in my book.

Don't you worry little guy, my team and I, heck all the rest of us  
out here too, are fighting to keep them away from you and everyone  
you love. We'll do our very best not to let you down.

You take good care of your Mom and I'll write to you again soon,  
okay? Your pen pal, Major John Shepherd." Piper smiles at her son's  
grinning face and hands him the letter.

Paige grins at him too, "It's so cute how he always wants to hold it  
after you're done. He looks like he's reading it all over again."

Little do the witches know, Wyatt actually is reading it all over  
again, but with his powers in use he can see what wasn't written down  
on paper.

When he gets to the part about saving the people from the bad guys  
and gets a "look" at them, his little face puckers into a frown of  
disapproval. "Bad guys!" He mutters, making his mother smile dotingly  
while cuddling him close.

That night when Piper put Wyatt to bed in his favorite blue jammies  
with the triquatra all over them he insists on keeping the Major's  
picture and letter with him and she allows it. Leaving only the  
nightlight on, she goes out of the room, closing the door.

A few hours later Wyatt cries out, making Piper jump up out of bed  
and run into the nursery in only her nightgown. She finds him  
standing and holding his hands out so she scoops him up into her  
arms. "What's the matter honey, did you have a bad dream?"

Leo orbs in, having heard his son's cry as well, "What is it, what's  
wrong?"

Not taking her eyes off her little boy, "I don't know, maybe he had a  
bad dream."

Grabbing his mother's face with both hands and looking earnestly into  
her eyes, "Major John is hurt. Bad guys took him away and want to EAT  
him. We can help!"

Before Piper can do or say anything Wyatt orbs his mother and himself  
away, leaving Leo behind to watch over Chris.

Wraith ship  
When mother and son rematerialize it's in a dark and scary place to  
see an obvious demon toying with Major Shepherd who is on his knees  
and bound with his shirt ripped open, face scraped and bruised, his  
chest bloody. There's an even bigger demon behind him with his face  
covered by a weird looking mask.

Wyatt happily yelps, "Major John!"

The Wraith turn in surprise, as does their prisoner.

"Oh my God!" Piper can't help but blurt aloud as she raises a hand to  
freeze everyone in the room. "These are Major Shepherd's bad guys?"  
AT Wyatt's nod she hurries to the man and unfreezes him so she can  
untie his hands.

Shepherd no longer sees the woman, but notices the Wraith are frozen  
in front of him. "That's new." Feeling someone tugging at his bonds  
he turns his head in surprise, "Where did you come from? How did you  
move so fast? Is that a kid in your arms?" His eyes widen in  
horror. "Lady, this isn't the safest place for adults, much less  
children."

"I can see that and it's not my choice to be here, believe me!" Piper  
snaps. "Can you stand up?" As he nods and does so she grabs his arm  
and looks down at her son. "Honey, Mama and Major John are ready to  
leave now."

The child frowns at the Wraith in the room, "Bad guys hurt Major  
John. Mama blow em up first so they don't hurt anybody else."

Not liking to use her powers in front of someone in the military, she  
can see by the set look on her son's face she'll have to agree before  
he'll orb them away. "Uhhhh, okay, but when we get home you and Mama  
need to have a long talk about orbing away in the middle of the night  
without talking about it first. Okay?"

He smiles, "Okay."

Letting go of the major's arm, Piper waves her hand at first one of  
the Wraith and then the other, exploding them to tiny blackened bits,  
much to the soldier's surprise.

Jaw slack for a moment, John stares at where the enemy had been. "How  
the he-?"

Piper grabs Shepherd's arm again, "Time to go!"

Laughing, Wyatt orbs them away and surprises his mother by taking  
them to a balcony overlooking an obviously alien city in the middle  
of an ocean. "Pretty!"

"Wow, I like the way you people travel!" John exclaims with a grin.

Whimpering a little as she lets go of the man and holds her son tight  
with both arms, "NOW where are we?"

Shepherd answers the strange woman, "Atlantis. This is where my  
people are based and I really appreciate the ride home. Are you  
saying the kid did this, not you?"

Piper's jaw drops, "Atlantis?" She ignores his question, hoping he  
won't ask it again.

"Yeah. It's beautiful, isn't it?" he grins at her look of  
shock. "What planet are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"

Trying not to panic, "Planet?"

Wyatt holds his hand out for the soldier, "Hurt. I can fix it!"

Piper's gaze is torn from the sight below her as she rolls her eyes  
over her son's head before turning to the soldier, "Just a second,"  
looking down at Wyatt she moves slightly away and whispers quickly  
into his ear. "I know he's a nice man and you like him a lot, but  
don't tell him your name, okay? We need to keep that a secret."

Whispering loudly with a conspiratorial grin, "Okay, Mama!"

Turning back again, "If you don't mind I'd rather not say where we're  
from or even tell you our names. We're not supposed to be here,  
wherever here is and this might sound a little odd but my son wants  
to heal you and in order to do that he has to touch you. Is this  
okay?" She just wants to go home and she hopes giving in to Wyatt  
will be the fastest way to do that right now. Lectures can some later.

Pausing for a moment to process that sentence he takes a deep breath  
before speaking, "He can do that? Sure, I'd love to not hurt any  
more." He smiles at the boy and nods.

Wyatt grins back and lays his hand on the man's face, then his chest,  
a yellow glow forming each time and the bruises and wound  
disappear. "All better!"

Looking down at his chest in wonder, "Yes I am. Thanks, little  
fella!" He looks at the boy's worried looking mother. "That's a  
special kid you've got there."

Mouth twitching with wry amusement, "Yes, I know. Listen, it was nice  
meeting you, I'm glad you're okay and all, but we have to go home."  
Piper hitches Wyatt higher on her hip.

"Wait, please? My people are trying to make allies here in the  
Pegasus galaxy and with your handy abilities, you'd be a huge help  
against the threat the Wraith represent to everyone they come into  
contact with. I have to ask, would you consider allying yourself with  
us?"

"Is that what those things were? Nothing like any wraith I've ever  
seen before!" Shaking her head, "I'm sorry, but we really can't stay.  
We have to go home and I think that's way too far away for us to come  
here very often," she grits her teeth as she speaks, "Ever again  
even."

Weir is listening to McKay who is arguing for a rescue mission right  
now this instant. She rubs her temples and suddenly notices people  
out on the balcony. She walks away from the scientist, out of doors  
and is surprised at what she sees, "John? You're all right! How did  
you get here? Who are your new friends?" Keying her mike she calls  
for Beckett and the rest of Shepherd's team who've been worried about  
him since his capture.

Rodney follows Weir while still talking and his jaw drops in  
shock, "Major Shepherd, you're alive?"

Piper turns at the sound of voices and whirls back around to face  
Shepherd again, "Too many people. They can't know about what my son  
can do, please don't tell them?" She begs. To Wyatt she says, "We  
really shouldn't be here, it's not safe for you, sweetheart. Tell the  
nice soldier goodbye and let's go home, now!"

Wyatt pouts a little, then waves, "Bye bye."

Laughing nervously, Piper waves too, "Bye now." The last word echoes  
a little as the two orb away, much to the surprise of the newest  
arrivals.

Shepherd waves as long as he sees the blue sparkle in the air then  
let's his hand fall by his side. "Bye," he says quietly.

McKay stops and stares, "Who was that woman? Was that a child? Where  
did they go? How did they do that?"

San Francisco,California Halliwell Manor the next day…  
Phoebe leans across the table after hearing about her sister and  
nephew's escapade the night before, "Tell me you're joking?"

Piper shakes her head, "Nope."

Paige sits back and grimaces, "You say these Wraith are like Tolkien  
Elves gone very wrong and scary looking?"

Piper nods, "Yep," as Leo orbs into the kitchen with them.

He heard the last question and answer, "It's worse than that, they're  
a kind of vampire that sucks the life force out of human beings. They  
consider us a prime food source."

Piper grimaces, "Ew, so that's what Wyatt meant when he said the bad  
guys wanted to eat' Major Shepherd."

Paige goes even more pale than normal, "Yuck!"

Phoebe is sitting shaking her head, "We have military people in outer  
space, living on another planet and no one knows about it?"

Leo nods, "Yes. It's a top secret, hush hush type thing that a branch  
of the government has in place to look for ways to defend Earth."  
When all three sisters look as if they're going to speak he holds up  
a hand, "Don't ask, you don't want to know. Just keep in mind that  
even normal humans do their fair share of looking after the human  
race and leave it alone at that."

Turning to Piper, "Oh and don't worry about what Major Shepherd said  
about you and Wyatt to his superior and collegues. I kind of listened  
in on his debriefing and he flatly refused to discuss anything about  
his rescuers, took some flak for it too."

Sitting up straighter with a small smile, "He did?" Piper gets up  
from the table and goes to remove ingredients from the shelves and  
refrigerator. "Leo, do you think you can take a little present back  
to the nice major for me?"

The Elder grins, "I think I can manage that. What are you going to  
send him?"

Atlantis  
John wearily walks down the corridor to his room for some much needed  
rest. After his debriefing he'd had to individually face each and  
every member of his own team and his refusal to tell them about the  
mysterious woman and child was met with anger or hurt looks.

He hated to keep everyone in the dark, but the woman had looked  
absolutely terrified for her son. All he'd told anyone was he owed  
her his life and if all she asked in return was that he not tell  
anyone any details about what happened then he wouldn't tell. A brief  
suspension was a small price to pay for getting to live.

Thinking back on the whole thing, Shepherd couldn't shake the feeling  
that the unusual pair was from Earth, strange as that might be. Just  
the way she spoke and the fact the kid was in footy pajamas made him  
feel that way. Shaking his head at himself he thinks, If I'd told  
anyone that theory they'd think I needed to be put in a rubber room!

Keying open the door to his quarters he can tell someone has been  
there. Looking quickly around John, spots a plain metal container on  
the bed with a note on top. Opening it he reads, "Thank you. I  
thought you might like these, a little something for a soldier far  
from home."

Picking up the container he notices it feels warm. Curious, he  
removes the lid and is hit in the face by the heavenly smell of  
homemade, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and brownies and his  
mouth immediately starts to water. "Ohhh, you're welcome and thank  
you!" He laughs and crams one entire cookie into his mouth. "Mmm…"

Leo looks on with complete understanding; having tasted his former  
wife's cooking and knows very well how good it is. Resisting the urge  
to laugh and give away his presence he slowly withdraws and heads for  
home.

The End


	2. Chapter 2

Pen Pals

Disclaimer

Summary: Sheppard receives another letter from the Halliwell family just after his suspension. The contents of which are a revelation to him.

Dear Major John,

That is what Wyatt calls you and insists the letters will start this way from now on. He's so happy to be able to write to one of the soldiers that are fighting to keep all of us safe. You guys aren't appreciated enough anymore, but we want you to know that we, the Halliwell family, do.

That said, we'd like to extend an invitation to you to visit our family when you're next on leave. I'll cook a homemade meal for you and Wyatt promises to share his toys. Wyatt's Daddy, Leo (who is now home to stay) has promised to make sure you aren't swamped entirely by childish conversation and that you'll get to watch at least one game of whatever sport you like to keep up with while you're here.

Wyatt also insisted we write again this quick because he wanted to send you a picture he drew. Maybe I'm biased, being his Mama, but I think my boy has talent. Let me know what you think of it, okay?

Wyatt's Mama (Piper)

Included in the file is a scanned copy of the picture and it makes John smile.

It's a crayon drawing of Wyatt's family, all dutifully labeled, probably by his mom. Depicted in it are his Daddy, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige, brother Chris in his mother's arms and Wyatt himself, all on a green field with what has to be a kid's version of the Golden Gate bridge in the background, along with some blue for water underneath.

Chuckling and nodding, "That's pretty damn good for a kid his age." John starts to reread the brief letter again and stops short at the salutation, then looks at the picture again. "No way…"


End file.
